


a storm on the horizon

by sulbeats



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon Era, Developing Friendships, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-08
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-11-29 10:35:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11439075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sulbeats/pseuds/sulbeats
Summary: Set after Spiderman: Homecoming. When May finds out Peter is Spiderman, she wants him to quit. Tony takes in Peter for the summer at the Avengers headquarters to give Peter better training and prove that Peter is more than capable for the job.On the other hand, the fragmented Avengers (Steve's secret team and Tony Stark's squad) find themselves binding together again with the rise of a new supervillain (and a little help from our newest superhero on the block). And on top of all this, Tony Stark finds himself to be surprisingly paternal.





	1. Pilot

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever story I've posted on this site—I got a dash of inspiration to do something Tony/Peter paternal feels after watching that movie. Amazing character development and great story-line overall, so I really wanted to write something for the movie after watching it!
> 
> I noticed that Tony/Peter paternal stories are a really big trend right now under the spiderman homecoming movies but I really wanted to write something of my own too so... here I go!

“So this is what you’ve been doing, huh? While I was worried sick that you were going out and about at night doing drugs with some hoodlums on the streets, you were doing… this?” May asked, squeezing her hands together so tight that her knuckles turned white. She looked Peter up and down, eyes trailing over the suit as if it were some infectious alien fabric that would incinerate her off of the face of the earth. 

Peter, who was sitting next to May on his bed, couldn’t quite bring his head up to meet her eyes. All he could do was stare at her shaking hands, biting his lip as he felt massive guilt claw at his conscience. He was still wearing his Spiderman suit—between May screaming an unceremonious What the FUCK at his doorway and an hour or so of getting bombarded with confused questions, Peter hadn’t gotten the chance to change. 

“… Yeah.” Peter muttered, twiddling his thumbs as he continued to look down at his feet. Of course he just had to change with his door open instead of checking if May was there. He just had to get caught by being careless, after all that he’d done to keep May and other people from knowing. 

“So you skipped the decathlon and then decided to save a crashing elevator, and almost died in the process. You decided to sew a ferry that was split in half together and almost died in the process. You fought a criminal wielding weird alien technology and almost died in the process.” May’s initial confused aggravation had simmered down into quiet ire, her tone a chilling icy cold. “What the fuck have you been doing, Peter?” 

“Helping people in the neighborhood. You know, just normal, teenage things.” Peter mumbled, trying to keep his tone light. 

May closed her eyes and exhaled, tipping her face towards the sky as if praying to the heavens. “Fighting criminals and jumping from building to building is not normal, Peter.”

“Yeah, well I never was normal to begin with.” Peter spat, before flinching at the acid in his own voice. 

May looked taken aback. “Peter, if this is about social things at high school – “ 

“No! No, not that type of being normal.” Peter said, squeezing his eyes shut as he raked his hand through his floppy hair. “It’s not about having a normal social life, which I still considerably lack in. I… I’m not normal, May. Like my body, it’s…” 

Peter bit his lower lip hard, before burying his face in his hands miserably. He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes now, and he cursed himself for being such an emotional wreck. He couldn’t afford to be an emotional wreck, especially not with May. 

May’s brows furrowed in concern as she began drawing circles on Peter’s back soothingly. “Hey, hey. Buddy, what’s going on?” 

“A year ago,” Peter choked out, his face still buried in his hands, “I got bit by a spider. A radioactive lab-test spider. It gave me these… enhanced powers.”

“Oh, baby.” May whispered, reaching for Peter and hugging him close.

“My whole body changed, May.” Peter mumbled, pulling away as he took a deep breath. “And I realized that I could be something with these powers, at the time.” 

“So you’ve been Spiderman ever since?” May asked quietly.

Peter nodded weakly in confirmation. He hadn’t been able to tell May initially, after what happened a year ago. But Peter had always known that one day, he would have to tell May who he was. 

And that it was his fault that uncle Ben died. 

“The police officer told me that a neighborhood vigilant had let a burglar go scot-free, minutes before that very criminal killed Ben.” May slowly said. “I had my doubts, whether it was actually Spiderman who had let him go. But it was you, wasn’t it?” 

Peter faced his aunt now, her visage blurry through the fat tears rolling from his eyes down his cheeks. “Yes.” Peter sobbed. “Yes. It’s my fault that uncle Ben died, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was Spiderman, May. I’m so sorry, I just couldn’t bring myself to – “

“This is really hard for me to stomach, Peter.” May cut in, arms dropping to her sides weakly. “Sorry is not going to bring my husband back.”

Peter felt the guilt crushing his chest now, rapidly accelerating his breathing and squeezing his insides painfully. His aunt pushed herself up from the bed, before turning to face Peter from above. The last time Peter had felt like such a child was when Tony Stark had taken his suit. Now, he felt smaller than ever under May’s hard gaze. “But blaming you for a burglar’s agenda is not fair. That criminal is the one who killed Ben, not you. So I can’t have you fighting criminals anymore, Peter. I’ve lost Ben, and I can’t lose you, too.” 

“May, I have to do this.” Peter pleaded, feeling a sense of helplessness churning and mixing with waves and waves of guilt. “If I don’t fight crime in Queens, who will be there to protect people in trouble?”

“The police, Peter.”

“May, I can’t have another person end up like uncle Ben, ever again – “

“And what if you’re that next person, hm? What if you get screwed over in the streets one day while you’re on your crime-fighting spree? You may think you’re a superhero, but you’re just my fifteen-year-old nephew.” May cut in viciously, her tone desperate as her probing eyes pleaded for him to see her point of view. “How could you even consider putting your life on the line, Peter? You’re not Captain America, or Thor, or Tony Stark – “ 

Realization flickered in May’s eyes, as if a light bulb had blinked on in her mind. Peter could practically see her connecting the dots as the anger and stupor hazing May’s mind cleared. “You… you weren’t at Stark Industries for an internship. You were using it as an excuse, weren’t you? To do your crime-fighting. And Tony Stark… he made you that suit, didn’t he? You were there, two months ago, at that civil war between the Avengers in Germany, I saw your picture on the news… He’s the one who took you there, isn’t he?” 

Apparently Peter’s guilty expression was more than enough confirmation, because May gave a short, dry laugh as she massaged her temples. “That man. That man is a bad influence, Peter.”

“Mr. Stark has been really nice to me – “

“Because he’s using you!” May spat out venomously. “He’s just grooming you so that he can abuse you for his beck and call, just like how he did last year when he whisked you away to Germany to fight his battles.”

“He offered me to be an Avenger after I defeated Vulture, May.” Peter gritted his teeth. “He offered to let me fight for people who might need my help one day. What use am I if I can’t do the right thing?”

“You don’t need to be a superhero to realize your full potential, Peter. You’re a smart kid, and you’ve got a brilliant brain. You can help people just fine with what you’ve got in that head of yours. I want you to return that suit to Tony Stark. I’m calling him right now to let him know that he is not going to put my only family on the frontlines to fight his battles. And that’s final.” May said harshly, before walking out the door. 

Fifteen minutes later, Tony Stark and Steve Rogers came knocking at the Parker residence door. 

 

 

“Mr. Stark. Mr. Rogers. What a pleasant surprise.” May drawled acerbically, looking up at them with blatant irritation in her tired eyes. “I’m assuming you’re here to talk to Peter?”

“Yes, Mrs. Parker.” Steve replied, face set in an amicable, but serious smile as he reached his hand out for May to shake. 

May crossed her arms pointedly. “Well, he doesn’t want to see you at the moment.”

“Captain America? Mr. Stark, is that you?” Peter yelled from somewhere inside the apartment.

Steve and Tony both raised their eyebrows in amusement. “I believe,” Tony said, feigning incredulous surprise, “that he’s more than excited to see us in this rather run-down building.” 

Peter came dashing towards the doorway, eyes both excited and pleading as he came to a halt behind May. May sighed, squeezing her nose bridge in displeasure. “Peter, go back to your room.”

“We really have to talk to Peter. And you. Both of you. Please, it’s very urgent.” Steve said, an air of authority in his calm, assertive voice. 

“… Fine. Come on in.” 

“You know, I liked you much better when you were just hot. Being both hot and rude is too much for me to handle.”

“I heard you got engaged, Mr. Stark. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t hit on me.” 

Steve snorted. 

 

 

“It’s too dangerous for Peter. He’s a fifteen-year-old kid. He could get killed out there.” May said, keeping her tone civil. “I don’t want to risk my only family. He’s not one of you.”

“You’re right.” Tony said, sipping the earl gray tea in his china cup before crinkling his nose in distaste. “Oh, wow, that’s a really bad batch. I’ll send you some tea leaves tomorrow. But anyway, like I was saying, Peter is not an Avenger. Not yet, anyway.”

“Not yet?”

“What I mean,” Tony straightened, setting the teacup down before looking May right in the eye, “is that Peter has chosen to help fight crime in Queens for now, where he can protect everyday people from harm. He has strong morals, and a strong sense of justice. He’s a responsible, mature kid who I can fully trust with that multi million-dollar suit that I made just for him.” 

“He’s still only a child.” May said adamantly, squeezing her hands into little fists.

Steve cleared his throat. “He will have to grow up one day, Mrs. Parker. And he’s already proven to be a very, very capable hero. He’s the person who people put their hope into. They see his mask, they see him in the streets, they see him fighting crime and they think: this is someone who will help and protect us.” 

“Look, we’re not going to force him to do dangerous missions against his own will, unless there’s actually an apocalypse on the horizon.” Tony interjected. “We’re here to make a sort of compromise, if you will. We want to train Peter at the Avengers Headquarters this summer – combat, programming, working complicated logistic things, maybe get some things done to make his college application more attractive to MIT, etc. We’ll tape his progress and send it to you daily, and you can judge if Peter is really an incapable child.” 

“Please, May.” Peter quietly pleaded, holding May’s thin hand to his heart. “I’ll really, really prove it to you that I can do this.” 

May looked at him quietly, before letting out a resigned sigh. “I could never make you change your mind. Fine. But only training in safe facilities for the summer, okay?”

“Okay. Yes, absolutely okay.” Peter grinned widely. 

“I’ll set up protective drones that will follow Peter whenever he does his Spiderman business until the summer.” Tony spoke up. “They will assist him if he ever gets into grave danger, which I doubt because he does his job very, very well. If anything bad happens, Dr. Helen Cho’s medical bots will regenerate and fix wounds on Peter’s body. Give the boy a chance, May.” 

“… Fine.”

“Pleasure talking it out with you, May.” Tony said amicably, tone light as he and Steve rose from their seats. “We’ll see you this summer, kid.”


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set after Spiderman: Homecoming. When May finds out Peter is Spiderman, she wants him to quit. Tony decides to take in Peter for the summer at the Avengers Institute to give Peter better training and prove that Peter is more than capable for the job.
> 
> On the other hand, the fragmented Avengers (Steve's secret team and Tony Stark's squad) find themselves binding together again with the rise of a new supervillain (and a little help from our newest superhero on the block). And on top of all this, Tony Stark finds himself to be surprisingly paternal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woohoo, i did not expect this many people to read my story o-o im still kind of overwhelmed and very thankful for the responses that i got! i hope this chapter doesn't disappoint! here's the next chapter that i banged out after a rush of influence and adrenaline! super early update, i know :D (i did proof read it, although there may be some mistakes here and there ;-; i apologize for that ;-;) 
> 
> pls leave a comment or two on how you think the story is progressing! feel free to tell me what youd like to see in the future, what you think of the characters, etc. just no flame, please! :D

“You owe me one, Tony. I kind of risked my security for this one, you know?” Steve said, as he and his old friend sat on a bench at Central Park.

“Of course. You know, I was going to bring Vision, but I decided maybe the bossiest man I’ve ever met might sway that distressfully adamant lady.” Tony snorted nonchalantly. He was tapping his foot on the ground nervously and erratically, though, betraying his calm demeanor. Steve noticed.

It hadn’t been easy for Tony after the mass defection of Steve and a majority of the Avengers. Steve and Tony were still on “amicable” terms at the moment, but this urgent request from Tony had been somewhat bewildering for Steve. When Steve had told Tony that he was always ready to help Tony in times of need, he had meant for Tony to call him if there was an apocalyptic event around the corner. Not for a desperate meeting to recruit a new youngster superhero.

Steve knew about Spiderman (the kid who stole his shield). After Tony had filled him in, Steve had been pleasantly surprised that a) Spiderman was a fifteen-year-old boy and b) that Tony was adamant on recruiting him. It may have not been about life or death, but the fact that Tony had resorted to Steve magnified how much the boy really meant. Perhaps one day, if there really was a situation of life or death… Spiderman would be there to make a difference for the rest of the world.

“You think Mrs. Parker realized that I’m technically a war criminal?” Steve joked instead of probing more about Peter Parker, rubbing his hands together in the chilly winter cold.

“Well then, I’m probably going to be branded ‘war criminal accomplice’ because technically, I brought you here.” Tony shrugged.

Steve chuckled at the sarcasm and slight wistfulness in Tony’s voice. “Hell of a team, huh?”

“Hell of a friend, too.” Tony muttered.

Steve glanced at Tony at that. He slightly parted his lips, but no sound came out. Instead, Steve merely smiled. “I might not be able to show up next time like I did today, Tony. Today was a very, very special case. But you’ve got one hell of an eye, and that kid’s going to be big one day.”

“You think?” Tony chuckled. “Well, you and Natasha should probably get going. I’ll call Pepper to prepare the private jet. And don’t worry; I won’t track where you land.”

“You expect me to trust that, Stark?” Steve laughed with joking sarcasm.

“Yep.”

“Don’t pop your p’s, Tony. It’s very disconcerting.”

 

 

 

Just because May had grudgingly accepted Peter’s alter-ego as Spiderman didn’t mean that Peter could go around things the way he used to. She was much more vigilant now, noticing every little detail and making sure to ask him where Peter went whenever he so much as looked at the front door. Peter had to make a record of who he had taken down, what he had been doing, why he couldn’t answer her calls, and whether he was keeping up with school work. She also had a curfew of 10 pm for Peter to keep, which he actually kept 85% of the time. The other 15%, May would inevitably find out that he had stopped a bank heist or saved a bunch of people from a fire through the news, and lecture him disapprovingly about dangerous operations at night. (She would still tell him at the end of her lectures that he did a good job saving those people, though)

Truth be told, it drove Peter crazy at first, but he learned to get used to the routine. School, decathlon, hanging out with Ned, Spiderman, sleep, and repeat. He had to maintain grades and keep up with the many responsibilities that came with living two completely different lives. That of a nerdy high school kid, and that of the neighborhood superhero.

“Hey, Peter, what’s up?” Ned asked, sliding beside Peter to match his steps as they walked to homeroom together. “Is your aunt still grilling you about the Spidey thing?”

“Pretty much.” Peter shrugged as the pair turned a corner.

“That’s rough, buddy.” Ned said sympathetically, patting Peter on the shoulder.

Peter shrugged again, tightening his backpack straps as he and Ned walked into homeroom. It was already January, frost clinging to the windows and icy drafts tinging Peter’s ears red. But time wasn't passing fast enough. Peter was content with working in Queens, but he didn’t want to do it with restrictions. There was only one way for Peter to prove to May that he was a capable superhero—and that was to show her just how amazing he was at the Avengers Institute.

Peter was starting to daydream a lot about what it would be like, fighting alongside the likes of War Machine and Vision. Of course, he kind of missed the old Avengers squad—the old line-up. Back when Captain America and his team weren’t branded war criminals.

Which had brought about the question—why was Captain America with Tony Stark that day, when they came to convince May to let Peter continue being a superhero? Captain America shouldn’t even have been there, yet…

Perhaps the Avengers weren’t as split as Peter made them ought to be.

“Peter? Peter. Dude, snap out of it.” Ned shook Peter out of his thoughts, and Peter blinked slowly as his friend gave him a displeased frown.

“What? Sorry, I wasn’t listening.” Peter shook his head a little, still feeling a little dazed.

Ned rolled his eyes. “Like I was saying, I said that the new kid’s coming today.”

“Oh, yeah, yeah. Right. New kid.” Peter nodded numbly. Their homeroom teacher had announced the day before that a new student would be transferring to their class. Peter hadn’t really paid much attention to the announcement—he was too busy conjuring recipes for better, stronger web fluid.

Ned looked unimpressed at Peter’s lack of attention, and rolled his eyes. “Yeah. The new kid’s a he, by the way. Apparently some freshman saw him in the dean’s office—according to her, he’s quote-unquote super hot.”

“That’s… great?” Peter trailed off. “I mean, it’s not like that directly affects us, or anything – “

Peter was cut off as the classroom door abruptly opened, revealing his homeroom teacher standing at the doorway. Peter could barely make out a rather tall boy behind his teacher—all he could see was a dash of dark brown hair and pale, fair skin. “Class? This is the newest member of our tightly-knit community.”

Peter craned his neck as his teacher lead the new boy in front of the whiteboard, taking it all in. The boy was lanky and slim, but definitely built underneath his thick cashmere sweater and jeans. Even Peter, who was usually innocuous about these things, could tell that the new boy was, indeed, ‘super hot’. He was definitely good-looking—a defined jawline, tall nose, and mesmerizing sea-green eyes all came together to create an Adonis in the flesh.

“Why don’t you introduce yourself?” The homeroom teacher encouraged.

The boy flashed a grin, revealing perfectly aligned white teeth. “Hey, guys. I’m Harry Osborn. Nice to meet you.”

“Like… _Oscorp_ Osborn?” Ned whispered to Peter.

“No clue, dude.” Peter murmured, as Harry Osborn shifted his gaze towards him.

Their eyes locked, and Harry gave Peter a small smile.

 

 

 

It turned out, Harry Osborn shared a total of four classes with Peter. Four. During Spanish, Harry had slid into a seat by Peter so silently that Peter hadn’t even noticed until Ned pointed it out.

“Peter, Ned. Fancy sharing a class with you guys.” Harry had smiled at the two of them, extending a hand to Peter before stretching to shake Ned’s hand.

Peter had given him a small smile that was a strange mix of forcefully friendly and mildly uncomfortable. Ned, on the other hand, blinked at Harry innocently. “Are you related to Oscorp, by any chance?”

“Dude, Ned!” Peter had chastised, shooting Ned a small glare. Harry Osborn probably didn’t want people asking him ‘are you related to Oscorp’ every five minutes.

Contrary to Peter’s expectations, Harry Osborn had burst into amused chuckles. “I was wondering why nobody had the balls to ask me that yet.”

“I take that as a yes, then?” Ned had replied.

“Well, figure it out, Sherlock.” Harry Osborn had chortled back.

Peter had thought that would be the last he would see of Harry Osborn, but when the new kid slid next to him for chemistry, physics and math, Peter was starting to feel uncomfortable. During physics, Flash Thompson had looked at the duo with incredulous, disbelieving eyes. Actually, everyone looked at the pair with disbelieving eyes. The really, really attractive and hot transfer student was hanging around Peter Parker. Even Peter himself couldn’t believe it.

“So, what clubs do you do, Peter?” Harry Osborn had asked during lab block.

“Uh… I do decathlon. And I used to do band. I quit, but I might start again.” Peter had replied hastily.

“Oh, cool.” Harry Osborn had said. “Decathlon sounds like fun—am I allowed to join?”

“Probably, yeah. Our team captain, Liz… She left this fall, so we still have a slot left. There’s a possibility that you might not make it onto the main team yet, though.”

“I’ll never know till I try out, yeah?” Harry Osborn had laughed (Peter made a mental note that Harry Osborn had weirdly charismatic laughs), before returning to heating his chemicals.

On their way out of lab, Flash Thompson had approached the two with an all-too-familiar smirk on his face. “So, you’re the new kid, right? I’m Flash Thompson, nice to meet you.”

“Harry Osborn.” Harry Osborn had smiled politely, shaking Flash’s outstretched hand.

“Osborn? Like, Oscorp Osborn?” Flash had asked, eyes wide in surprise and some sort of awestruck reverence. “Holy shit, what the hell are you doing with Parker?”

Harry Osborn had given Flash a little forced smile. “Peter’s showing me the ropes of this place, if you will.”

“You’re trusting Penis Parker to take you around the school? It’s lunch next block—come with me, I’ll introduce you to some actually interesting people around here.” Flash had offered.

“Oh. I appreciate the offer, but I don’t hang out with bullies.” Harry Osborn had said with a condescending smile. “Let’s go, Peter.”

Peter had just followed after Harry numbly (when Peter was the one who was supposed to show Harry to the cafeteria), leaving an embarrassed Flash in his wake.

So after a long, long day of showing Harry Osborn around, Peter found himself sitting by him at decathlon practice. Flash Thompson was brooding on the bench, and Harry Osborn was reciting facts like he was spitting fire. Mr. Harrington looked very, very impressed. “Well, welcome to the decathlon team, Harry.”

Harry had grinned widely, and Michelle had snorted in dry amusement. “Try not to get too scared of the hellfire practice sessions, newbie.”

Harry tilted his head towards Michelle with an innocent quizzical look. “I don’t burn, princess.”

“I like this guy. But call me princess one more time, and I’ll skewer you, newbie.”

 

 

 

After munching through several large pepperoni pizzas with the decathlon team in a welcoming celebration for Harry, Peter still felt uncomfortable. Flash was still glaring daggers at Harry, Peter and Ned every few minutes or so, probably wondering to himself how some of the geekiest two people he knew were snuggling up to Harry Osborn.

But Peter and Ned weren’t snuggling up to him at all. It was very much the other way around. It was basically 95% Harry approaching them wherever they went, and 5% Ned talking to Harry about technology.

And Peter? Peter still felt a bit uncomfortable around Harry. Maybe it was the fact that Harry was definitely a rich kid just like Flash that got Peter feeling jumpy. Maybe it was that same, condescending smile that Harry and Flash both had that still made Peter wary of this new boy.

“I’m very interested in chemical-engineering. I’ve actually been making compounds that are dangerously close to steroids in my dad’s lab.” Harry said to Ned as he chugged a large gulp of coke down.

Ned looked impressed. “So what, Oscorp’s newest project is going to be muscle-building steroid pills?”

“If it were,” Harry joked, “do you think I’d still be this lanky?”

Ned and Harry burst out into loud laughs as Peter winced at the volume piercing through both of his eardrums.

“This isn’t your personal geek-fest meeting, losers.” Michelle called from across the table, though she sounded more affectionate than annoyed through her deadpan demeanor. “Zip it.”

As always, Peter and Ned just stared at her. Harry, on the other hand, smiled charmingly. “Sure thing, princess.”

“Get over here so I can puncture your lung, newbie.”

 

 

  
“So, Peter. I see you’re not the most talkative kid around?” Harry turned to Peter as he reached for another slice of pizza. “Tell me about your interests, hobbies.”

“I like math and science. Chem, physics.” Peter stammered out. “I, uh, I also like to watch Star Wars and just… you know, stuff.”

“That’s very vague, Peter. Although I agree, Star Wars is a must-watch classic. The dialogue in the prequels are way too flowery and oily for my tastes, though.” Harry sniffed. “You know, true story, I once constructed the Death Star out of 3803 Lego pieces.”

For the first time that day, Peter cracked a genuine little smile.

 

 

  
Spring came and soon left, and before Peter knew it, sprawling summer was hitting him right in the face. Many things had changed after Harry’s arrival—Flash’s dumb insults simmered down a lot, Betty Brant didn’t look at him like he was the plague, and the cheerleaders didn’t whisper loser whenever he said anything about Star Wars.

Most of all, Harry had quickly become one of Peter’s closest friends. Peter, Ned and Harry were practically inseparable (with the occasional addition of a dry, deadpan MJ), and Peter couldn’t count the number of times he had visited the Osborn mansion and Oscorp Tower (which had formerly been the Avengers Tower. It felt weird seeing OSCORP light up the night sky instead of the A for Avengers).

“We’ll keep in touch over the summer, Peter, Ned. If any of you want to hang out at Oscorp Tower or my house, just hit me up.” Harry had said during lunch on the last day of school. Ned squeaked. Peter laughed.

“Excuse me?” MJ spoke up, sitting on a table right next to them (alone).

“Oh, the invitation’s open to you too, princess.”

“For fucks sake.”

When sophomore year finally ended, leaving a bunch of HAGS (Have a Great Summer) scribbled lazily into Peter’s Yearbook and a few genuine, heart-felt messages in it’s wake, Peter couldn’t contain his excitement. Finally, he was going to prove to May how capable he was. That he was born to be Spiderman.

So when Happy finally pulled up in front of the Parker residence, Tony Stark waiting in the backseat of the car, Peter dashed down the stairs like his life depended on it (after giving May a kiss on the cheek and a long, reassuring hug).

“Hey, Mr. Stark! Hi, Happy!” Peter exclaimed, tackling Happy into a big bear hug outside the car. He attempted to do the same to Tony when Peter slid into the seat next to his mentor. Much to Peter’s delight, Tony awkwardly (and somewhat reluctantly) put his arms around Peter into a loose hug.

“Good to see you too, kid.” Tony managed, feeling a bit winded. “You ready?”

“Always.” Peter grinned.


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set after Spiderman: Homecoming. When May finds out Peter is Spiderman, she wants him to quit. Tony decides to take in Peter for the summer at the Avengers Institute to give Peter better training and prove that Peter is more than capable for the job.
> 
> On the other hand, the fragmented Avengers (Steve's secret team and Tony Stark's squad) find themselves binding together again with the rise of a new supervillain (and a little help from our newest superhero on the block). And on top of all this, Tony Stark finds himself to be surprisingly paternal.

“So, I’m going to take you around the compound to make sure that you don’t stroll into the wrong place at the wrong time and kill yourself.” Tony started as he, Peter and Happy came to a halt in the same place that Tony had offered Peter to be an Avenger. 

Peter looked from the floor-to-ceiling bulletproof glass to the marble floors and the modern furniture placed in the most optimal fengshui orientation possible in silent awe. He had visited the massive complex before and already knew this part of the building from his previous visit, but everything was still impressive and hard for him to take in. Peter was going to be living and training at this place… this facility that was basically the Pentagon for superheroes. 

“Tony, you have a meeting with Secretary Ross in fifteen minutes.” Happy said, holding up Tony’s schedule on his iPad for Tony to see. 

Tony looked visibly disgruntled and annoyed. “Can’t we post-pone that to tomorrow, or something? I do not feel like meeting him right now.”

“Tony, it’s urgent.” Happy said, before lowering his voice as he pulled Tony aside. 

Peter glanced towards the two as Happy began whispering something quickly, and watched as Tony’s facial expression gradually harden with anger. Peter recognized that cold fury, like the calm before the storm—it was the same anger that Peter had been subject to when Tony rebuked him for the ferry incident. 

“I see.” Tony finally said slowly, before letting out a little sigh.

Tony swiveled around to face Peter with effortless bravado, a casual smile set into his features. It was that swagger that almost tricked Peter into thinking that whatever Tony had to discuss with Secretary Ross wasn’t anything too serious. Peter would have been duped if he hadn’t witnessed Tony’s previous display of displeasure. 

But Tony still played it off cool. “Well, since I have to meet Thaddeus Ross, I’ll have Happy show you around. I’ll see both of you soon, if you’ll excuse me.” 

Tony walked off, and Peter turned to Happy. “What was that all about?”

“Can’t really disclose that, unfortunately. And no, not because I think you’re an immature fifteen-year-old, but because you’re a fifteen-year-old who I can’t disclose important security information to.” Happy said, before giving Peter a light push. “So, we’re going to start with this area and end with your sleeping quarters, okay?”

“Will the rooms be like college dorms? Do I get to customize the furnishing for my room? Oh, wait, can I get my own TV?” Peter asked excitedly. 

“No, the rooms will be large and you will be in a penthouse-esque suite. The furniture is already in place and I will not be using any more budget to fit to random personal needs. And you will have a plasma screen TV, a personal miniature TV, and a TV on the ceiling.” 

“… Neat.” Peter whispered, a smile slowly lighting up his face. 

 

Peter strolled after Happy as they continued turning corner after corner towards their final destination. After a few more minutes of silent walking, they came to a stop in front of a large door. Happy put a keycard to the small scanner by the doorway, and Peter stiffened as the sliding doors parted to reveal the biggest suite he had ever seen. 

Harry’s mansion had been pretty splendid (as was his room, which was probably twice the size of Peter and May’s apartment), but the Avengers’ quarters were on a whole new level. “This is the common area, if you will. No one’s here right now—Vision is training and Rhodey is at therapy right now. You’ll probably see them tonight, but Rhodey might not show up until tomorrow.” 

“… Wicked.” Peter whispered. He made a mental note to take video chat Ned the complex—maybe even send him Vision and Rhodey’s autograph. 

 

Truth be told, Peter had often lied down on his bed at night thinking what would have been different if he had taken up Tony Stark’s offer. What if he had donned that new enhanced suit (which looked sick) and introduced himself as the newest Avenger to the press. Peter knew he would have to face even greater responsibilities than the ones he had to juggle over the school year—responsibilities that exceeded the power that he had at the moment. 

Maybe one day, when Peter was really, truly ready, he would take up Tony Stark’s offer to become an Avenger. 

In the mean time, Peter was having a blast trying out everything that the Avengers’ quarters had to offer. He had already taken a relaxing bubble bath in a bathroom that was the size of his bedroom back at Queens (he had taken the liberty to belt out an Alicia Keys song in the process). He had tried soda flavors that he didn’t even know existed, and had picked at a few treats in the snack cabinet. He bounced up and down on the plush couches, absolutely engrossed in the fun. And now, he was in his room on a Star Wars marathon. 

It wasn’t even a room—it was practically his own flat. Peter knew that Ned would love hanging out here. In fact, even Harry would be star-struck at the sheer size of Peter’s room. Maybe Peter could ask Tony or Happy if he could bring some friends over, to give them a little tour or some sort of field trip. 

Someone knocked on Peter’s door just as Senator Palpatine growled: “It’s treason, then”. Peter hurriedly paused the movie, before hopping off the bed to open the door. “Hello?” 

Peter found himself face to face with a tall, well-built man dressed in a simple black sweater and pants. Peter’s eyes widened when he registered the man’s red and green skin, and his mouth opened and closed in surprise and panic. He was starting to feel very, very conscious of the crumbs sticking to his shirt and his uncombed, partially wet hair. 

“Hello, Peter Parker. I had the honor to fight alongside you a few months ago when Tony brought you in. My name is Vision.” Vision smiled, extending a hand.

Peter hurriedly took it, feeling embarrassed at how greasy the tips of his fingers were. “Hi. Hey. Hello, I mean. I’m sorry, I’m probably really unpresentable right now, and – “

“Oh, it’s quite alright. It’s much better than walking into Tony half-naked with his girlfriend, mind you.” Vision smiled amiably.

Peter just laughed awkwardly as Vision peered at him curiously. “Um, right. It’s really nice to finally get to talk to you properly, Vision. Or Mr. Vision. Or sir. Vision, whatever you prefer, really – “

“Just Vision is fine, Peter. Oh, are you alright with me calling you Peter?” 

“Yes, that’s totally fine. So uh, is there anything I can do for you, Vision?”

“Well, I wanted to invite you for a drink, but then I remembered that you’re only fifteen. So, I came to invite you to drink soda. I’d like to get to know you better, as a new addition to the team.” 

“Oh, I’m not an Avenger.” Peter said, waving his hands in front of him as Vision gave him a quizzical look. “I’m just here to train and better myself.” 

“Oh. Well, that’s a shame. I was looking quite forward to working with you.” Vision murmured, clearly disappointed. “Well, I’d still love to have a nice chat, if that’s okay with you.” 

“Of course that’s okay with me! I’m more than down.” Peter exclaimed, mentally kicking himself for sounding so awkward and nervous. He was probably looking even scrawnier and unimpressive than usual, too. Way to make good first impressions. 

Vision smiled. “I appreciate the enthusiasm, Peter. Come to my room—I have much to learn about you.”

The way Vision said that (and that friendly, yet very off-putting way that he smiled) made Peter feel like a lab rat ready to be dissected and flayed. 

 

Vision proved to be a genuinely courteous man in nature. The overtly polite friendliness that had initially freaked Peter soon made Peter feel welcome and accepted. Vision was very good with people and talking to them—Peter had always assumed that Vision didn’t really feel any emotions, but the gentle, understanding way Vision approached the touchiest of subjects made it surprisingly easy for Peter to spill his life story. Including his part in Ben's death. 

Perhaps it wasn’t just the calming, encouraging effect that Vision had on people that spurred Peter’s word barf. Maybe it was that guilt that was still rooted somewhere deep in Peter’s heart; that guilt and pressuring responsibility that weighed him down. 

“You are an admirable man, Peter.” Vision said, as Peter sipped at his sprite. “Few men and women can embrace great power that has been put in their hands for the greater good. If everyone in the world could, we’d have world peace instead of meaningless wars.” 

“With great power comes great responsibility.” Peter replied almost automatically, feeling an immediate pang in his heart as he remembered uncle Ben’s motto. 

“Ah, Voltaire.” Vision perked up. “Not many are aware of that quote.” 

Peter knew from a decathlon match that Voltaire had been the original source of the phrase (he had almost yelled uncle Ben, before reorganizing his jumbled thoughts to give the match-winning answer). But it was uncle Ben who had embedded that phrase deep within Peter’s soul—it was uncle Ben who made it a lesson that Peter abided to every single day. “My uncle liked to say it, whenever he saw people of power doing the wrong thing. That’s why I got so fixated on doing the right thing after… well, you know.”

“He must have been very proud to know that he left a great legacy with you.” Vision gently said. 

“Thank you.” Peter smiled a little gratefully. “Really, it means a lot.” 

“I truly meant every word.” Vision replied. “I once had friends just like you. People who embraced the power they had to do good for the world.”

“The other Avengers?”

“Yes, Peter. The others.” There was a sorrowful, faraway look in Vision’s eyes, as if he was seeing a distant memory. 

Vision spread his hand out towards his rather large bedside table. His hand began unfurling into thousands of units of miniscule nanobots that lifted the cover of the bedside table to reveal photos tacked onto the smooth surface. Tony Stark, Rhodes… and Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, the Hulk, Thor, Scarlet Witch, Falcon, and a man with a shock of silver hair who Peter couldn’t quite recognize. 

“His name was Pietro Maximoff, also known as Quicksilver.” Vision said, eyes following Peter’s gaze before resting on the handsome visage of the late superhero. 

“He passed away?” Peter asked slowly, the inside of his mouth going dry. “I’m… I’m so sorry for your loss.” 

“I wasn’t the one who suffered the most.” Vision murmured, his eyes trailing to the photo of a smiling Wanda Maximoff. 

Peter’s eyes widened as he registered Quicksilver’s real name. Pietro Maximoff. Wanda Maximoff. “Were they related?” Peter asked, unable to resist the curiosity nipping at the back of his mind. 

“They were twins. They had an emotional bond that far exceeded any other bond that I have ever witnessed.” Vision stated matter-of-factly, looking almost remorseful. “They loved each other dearly, and Ultron stole him away.” 

“Oh.” Peter gulped. He knew of Ultron’s massive terror attack on the world two years ago; how could he not, when it had escalated into the biggest global crisis of the 21st Century? Ultron had attempted to destroy the Earth, and the Avengers had been there to stop the mass cataclysm from happening. 

He didn’t know that an Avenger had died in the process—in fact, he hadn’t even heard of Pietro Maximoff until now. Peter looked guiltily down at his can of sprite, unable to keep his eyes on Pietro’s photo. Pietro Maximoff had been there to save the world at the cost of his life. All Peter had done during the Avengers’ civil war was steal Captain America’s shield and make no impact or difference whatsoever. 

“It’s not your fault for being unaware of Pietro, Peter.” Vision said soothingly, as if he had read Peter’s mind. “The Avengers got very unfavorable responses from people after the Ultron attack. Wanda did not want people slandering Pietro’s name. We had a very private memorial to remember him.” 

Vision released his nanobots again to close the table top gently. “He would have liked you, I think. He had a soft spot for children.” 

 

Peter’s meeting with Commander James Rhodes the next day at the training grounds could not have been any more different. Peter had showed up at 8:45 am sharp—fifteen minutes before the official training session—feeling pumped and hoping to show Commander Rhodes his enthusiasm. 

He was surprised to see Commander Rhodes waiting for him, already geared up in his War Machine suit ready to go. Rhodey opened his mask, revealing a serious, grim face underneath. “My name, as you probably already know, is James Rhodes, but you may call me Rhodey. I had the pleasure to meet you for a short time at the airport in Germany, Peter Parker.” 

“The pleasure was all mine… sir.” Peter added, straightening his back at the sheer authority in Rhodey’s voice. 

“Luckily for you I am here today to serve as your trainer, not your commander. You don’t need to add the sir, but call me whatever feels right for you. I will be training you for endurance, agility, and combat ability.” Rhodey continued, his voice loud and articulate, but not loud enough to be considered a shout. 

“Yes, sir.” Peter said automatically. The ‘sir’ just came out of him like instinct. How could it not? Peter was addressing a US army commander, for God sake. 

“I want to see ten laps around the facility complex for a quick little warm up, all the way around the fountain at the entrance and back.” Rhodey said, sliding his War Machine mask back on.

Peter’s mouth dropped (not that Rhodey could see that under Peter’s Spiderman mask). 

“That’s considered a warm up?” Peter squeaked out, the eyes on his suit widening and shrinking rapidly in disbelief. 

“No complaints, or you’ll be packing home, kid.” Rhodey said from inside his suit. The mechanized exo-skeleton made Rhodey’s words even less humane and more intimidating.

Peter sighed to himself. He had no way of going around this, and he had come here to get stronger. He had experienced the limits of his power while fighting Vulture and his gang, and he had been rendered painfully helpless on that ferry. He couldn’t risk such a thing happening in his neighborhood again. 

Without another word, Peter began jogging, keeping his pace light. 

“Ten laps may be an overreach for your stamina and physical capabilities, Peter.” Karen, the AI in Peter’s suit, said in a concerned tone. 

“Wow, Karen. Now you speak up about my predicament—I would never have guessed that ten laps might be physically impossible for me to accomplish.” Peter replied sarcastically. 

“What was that?” War machine yelled from above him.

“Nothing!” Peter yelled back, before continuing his run. 

 

When Peter finally completed his ten laps (which turned out to be barely accomplishable), his heart beating faster than ever before, he unceremoniously collapsed onto the ground. War Machine flew down from the sky, coming pausing for a second before landing on the ground next to a panting Peter. Peter ripped his Spiderman mask off of his face, feeling torrents of sweat cascading down his face and neck like a waterfall. His cheeks were a ruddy red as Peter caught his breath, before shakily standing up. 

“You’ve got some durability, kid.” Rhodey said, sounding mildly impressed. “Is that from the superhuman spider serum too?” 

Peter nodded as he stalked over to a table on the training grounds set up with many, many water bottles. He quickly took a large swig of water before turning to Rhodey. “It heightened almost all of my physical capabilities. It also let me climb walls too, which was pretty cool.” 

“Ah. But the web-shooting, that’s not from your own body?”

“No, sir.” Peter shook his head. He lifted his right forearm, showing Rhodey the web-shooters built into his suit. “After I fill my web-shooters with fluid, they shoot webbing out. Karen helps me with the webbing combinations a lot.”

“Karen?” Rhodey asked. 

“The AI in my suit. She’s very nice. She says hello.” Peter supplied, as Rhodey burst into amused chuckles.

“That’s one hell of a suit, kid. Probably feels much more comfortable than wearing a hunk of metal, huh?”

“Um, well, everyone has their own preferences, I guess.” 

“Sorry, I’m not trying to make you feel uncomfortable or anything. I’m just amazed you got all that technology packed into a spandex suit. Well, you’ve had your break—we’re going to test your agility and reflexes. I am going to shoot mock bullets at you and you have to dodge every single one. I don’t care if you jump or web or climb your way out of it—I just wanna see what you can do. Are we clear?” 

“Yes, sir.” 

 

Peter’s bones felt like jelly when he got out of the bath tub. His muscles were still sore and aching from avoiding Rhodey’s mock paint bullets for an hour-straight. After jumping, climbing and webbing his way out of Rhodey's attacks, Rhodey had challenged Peter to a thirty-minute sparring session. Peter had been hit by ten of the one-thousand bullets that Rhodey had used, which apparently only proved that Peter was still lacking. And the sparring? 

"Peter, it seems as if you're not very versatile with your webbing combinations yet. You've gotten proficient, but not proficient enough to fight such a veteran."

"Gee, Karen, you think?" 

"Should I activate instant kill?"

"No! No, do not activate instant kill!" 

"Well, I guess you'll have to proceed getting your—I believe the phrase is, 'ass kicked'."

When Peter lay down on his bed, ready to take a long nap after changing into a fresh shirt and shorts, he heard a knock on his door. Inwardly groaning, Peter struggled off of his bed and limped towards the door. 

“Oh, you’re all cleaned up. Great.” Tony looked Peter up and down. “I have something to show you, so you need to come with me.” 

Peter tried not to groan in frustration. 

 

A long walk later, Peter’s mouth opened wide as he surveyed the magnificent scene in front of him, previous pain and aches all but forgotten.

“This… is the most amazing lab I’ve ever seen.” Peter whispered in awe, eyes trailing over the high-tech mechanical equipment. “Is this your personal lab?” 

“Technically no, but I’m the only one allowed to use it as of now. I was going to give it to Bruce, but I have no idea where he is as of this moment. So, for now I’m the only one who can access it.” Tony shrugged, swirling the keys by the chain on his forefinger. “Therefore, since it would be a waste not to use such a magnificent facility; I personally bestow you the rights to use this place as much as you want.”

“Wait, what?” Peter asked, mouth dropping open for a second time as he looked from the equipment to Tony and back. “I get this whole space for myself? Me only?” 

“Yes. And occasionally me, to make sure that you aren’t creating a dangerous weapon of mass destruction.” Tony drawled, as if brushing the ordeal off as no big deal. 

But Peter was too amazed (and tired) to quietly accept Tony Stark’s act of hospitality without making a fuss. So instead of standing there continuing to gawk until Tony left the lab, Peter wrapped his arms around Tony in a big, grateful hug. 

“Whoa, whoa. I am not too comfortable with physical contact unless its Pepper or my suit.” Tony grunted, throwing his hands up defensively. After a few seconds, however, Tony cleared his throat and began patting Peter lightly on the back.

Peter detached himself from a stiff Tony with a big, happy grin. “I’m really, really thankful for all of this, Mr. Stark.”

“Well, like I said, I wanted to give you some support. You know, adult to child. Or adult to teen. Adult to adolescent. Whatever expression fits. Like I said before, my dad never did these things and I am nothing like my father so, enjoy your exclusive lab, Peter.” Tony rushed out, feeling awkward at the somewhat sappy atmosphere. 

“This is really more than I could ever ask for, Mr. Stark.” Peter laughed, eyes still wide in disbelief as he looked around the lab again in amazement. “This is way too generous of you.” 

“I’ve always been a generous man.” Tony sniffed, examining the new engagement ring on his finger. “My father, however, was most certainly not.”

Peter glanced at Tony, who suddenly seemed interested in a microscope that wasn’t even turned on. He tightly pressed his mouth together as Tony began fiddling with the microscope knobs, debating whether asking about Howard Stark would be appropriate for the situation. 

Peter decided; why not? “Were you not close with your dad, Mr. Stark?” 

For awhile, Tony simply turned the gears on the microscope. Peter was starting to regret asking such an intrusive question and braced himself for Tony to lash out, but after a long silence Tony finally replied. “Howard? No, not at all.” 

Peter exhaled—he hadn’t even realized that he had been holding his breath under the taut tension in the lab. Tony finally turned to face Peter, a grim, rueful hint of smile on the genius billionaire’s face. “Howard was a genius. The most brilliant scientist of his time. A raging alcoholic, but a genius nonetheless. But with that big brain he didn't make any room for me. Sure, he gave me plenty of materialistic things and his habit of alcoholism. Oh, he also paid my tuition so that I could attend MIT. But he never established that emotional tether that fathers and sons usually create, you get what I’m saying?” 

Peter blinked at the sudden deluge of information that seemed to flood out of Tony. It was as if a mental dam holding all of this back had broken down, letting the pent up emotions flow free. Maybe that dam had cracked open because Tony needed to talk about his complicated relationship with his father. Slowly, Peter shook his head no in response to Tony’s question. 

Ben had been Peter's uncle, but he had also been a great surrogate father nonetheless. After Mary and Richard Parker died in a plane crash when Peter was only a toddler, Ben and May raised Peter like he was their own son. And for that, Peter got to experience a relatively normal childhood. 

“You said that you were raised by your aunt and uncle, right?” Tony asked brusquely, tilting his head to the side imploringly.

Peter nodded again. “Yes, Mr. Stark. They raised me after my parents died in a plane crash.”

“Well, they must have raised you really well for you to grow into a fine, mature young man.” Tony said, very sincerely. The nonchalant, almost carefree tone that was usually there wasn’t in Tony’s voice this time. 

“Um, thank you, Mr. Stark.” Peter stammered out. 

“Don’t be too overwhelmed, I do mean it, kid.” Tony snorted. “Well, I didn’t have anyone, after Howard and Maria left me that day on Christmas. That’s why I don’t really take to Christmas—it’s a holiday for most but it’s a memorial for me. But I digress. He never really showed me ‘love’. Our relationship was very, very strained.” 

“But he must have cared about you a lot, Mr. Stark.” Peter spoke up, feeling a bit surprised at his own audacity. “I mean, you’re his son. Being there for each other is kind of what family is for.”

“I’m a carbon copy of my father when he was young. Both of us kind of sucked at the ‘forming emotional bonds and connections’ thing. Surprising how he married my mother. Then again, I’m engaged to Pepper so maybe we don’t completely suck. But I suffered from acute emotional deficiency when I was your age.” Tony fiddled with the microscope again, lost deep in thought.

“Sometimes I hated being an orphan, Mr. Stark.” Peter slowly began, looking at the tips of his shoes as he began reminiscing memories from years back. “I thought—why couldn’t my parents have stayed with me, instead of always leaving for extensive trips? Why did they have to die? Why weren’t they here to comfort me when I was getting bullied by rich snobs? It’s funny, because my parents left me in the care of my uncle for multiple, extended periods of time so I never really knew them to begin with, anyway.” 

Tony was listening intently now. Peter paused, feeling the tears well up again as he rolled the soles of his feet anxiously. “But then I read these letters that my parents had left me. They were in a box that my uncle found one day in my dad’s old office. And I remember just crying and crying because I could tell how much my parents loved me.”

Peter turned to Tony, giving him a little smile. “Did Mr. Stark uh… Mr. Howard Stark leave you anything, by any chance?” 

“A video.” Tony said curtly. “He left me a recording or two.”

“May I ask what he said?”

“He used to talk about Captain America non-stop. He sort of created the Steve Rogers we know today, you know. He would go on and on about it whenever I was younger, expecting me to idolize Steve who was long frozen in a block of ice at the time. To him, Steve was the greatest man to have graced the Earth, just after himself.” Tony paused, before taking in a breath. 

“But in that video—he called me his greatest creation.” 

 

On Tony Stark’s desk in his personal office was a single document: 

‘GOVERNMENT CONTRACTOR PROPOSAL FOR THE MANUFACTURING OF CHITAURI TECHNOLOGY AND WEAPONRY’

And on the very bottom of that document, was a single, neatly printed word. 

REJECTED

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jesus this was a gargantuan update. i think i just banged out ten pages. 
> 
> the goal of this chapter was to show the relationship dynamics between peter and the three current avengers: vision, rhodey and tony stark himself. vision is kind of like his emotional beacon/support, who's very insightful and helpful. rhodey trains peter hard, but he respects peter and treats him like he's a mature adolescent (peter is also much stiffer around rhodey). With tony, the relationship is much more emotional because they connect over their loss. tony wants to give peter what his father never really gave him (although now tony knows howard really, really did love him a lot). peter, on the other hand, finds a father figure in tony after the loss of his father and his surrogate father. 
> 
> of course, this isn't the end of the relationship building, just a little start :D 
> 
> and about pietro having a soft spot for children... tbt man... tbt... ; - ; what are the chances he'll come back ;-;


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set after Spiderman: Homecoming. When May finds out Peter is Spiderman, she wants him to quit. Tony decides to take in Peter for the summer at the Avengers Institute to give Peter better training and prove that Peter is more than capable for the job.
> 
> On the other hand, the fragmented Avengers (Steve's secret team and Tony Stark's squad) find themselves binding together again with the rise of a new supervillain (and a little help from our newest superhero on the block). And on top of all this, Tony Stark finds himself to be surprisingly paternal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY FOR THIS LATE ASS UPDATE. D:
> 
> I had my part-time job to deal with for the week and jesus I did not stop working my ass off. i also had a bad case of acid reflux a few days ago and i had to go on meds for it :/ i got a bit of heartburn so im trying to recuperate ;-; my updates may be a bit slower than before (maybe every week or so but we'll see how it goes) Yesterday I started writing this thing out and I think I finished looking over the ten pages today :D 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this update—because we finally get to see a lil May, a lil Ned, and a lil chunk of Harry :) 
> 
> Next chapter there will be more tony and peter - i've got the scenes all planned out :D But i hope this update takes the plot to a satisfying place for you guys! I'm so thankful for the reviews and responses that I've gotten these past few days :D

“Are they training you too hard? How are you feeling?” May fretted, the worry and concern on her face clear as day through the computer screen.

 Peter managed a small smile as he shrugged nonchalantly. “Everything’s cool, May. The drills are pretty tough, but it’s like advanced gym class.”

“I saw the videos, Peter.” May snapped, throwing him an accusing look. “It looked like that colonel was working you half-to-death.”

“Like I said, May. Advanced gym class!” Peter kept his tone upbeat, smiling widely to convince May that he was indeed in full health and feeling great.

It was a little white lie—Peter’s muscles did feel like melted goo and his tendons felt like taut licorice. But he wasn’t complaining. This was real superhero stuff that was going to prepare him for villains beyond the likes of Adrian Toomes, should such a villain ever attack New York City. Colonel Rhodes (as it turns out, he was a member of the Air Force and not the US Army) was already a force to be reckoned with, and there was no way in hell that Peter was ready to meet a villain at Rhodey’s caliber yet.

May still looked unconvinced, but she heaved a resigned sigh. “Well, you look like you’re certainly getting into the superhero gig in those red and blue tights.”

“I’ve always been a superhero, May. Sort of. Neighborhood superhero, but still a superhero.” Peter pointed out, wiggling his eyebrows playfully. His aunt rolled her eyes in a sort of exasperated affection, appreciating his attempts to make her feel better.

“By the way, have you been contacting any of your friends? Harry’s been calling a lot, asking if you’re super busy at your so-called summer program.”

Peter blinked at May slowly, trying to recall the last time he had contacted Harry, Ned, or even MJ. Peter had actually talked to Ned a few days ago, Facetiming him the inside of the Avengers facility and even sneaking him a clip of Peter training with War Machine. Harry, on the other hand…

Peter didn’t really know how to contact Harry, to be honest. He didn’t like lying to Harry about being Spiderman and the whole Avengers summer training thing. Harry didn’t deserve to be lied to—Peter would rather say nothing at all than fib to his best friend. “I’ve been talking a bit to Ned. I just haven’t been able to contact Harry, with him being busy with Oscorp stuff and me stuck in the facility working – “

“He’s been very anxious, Peter.” May said, her tone disapproving. “He values you as a friend very, very much. He’s come by the apartment a few times to ask if you’ve called me. He thinks you’re mad at him or something.”

“What? No! There’s no way I’d be mad at Harry, not ever.” Peter protested, spearing his hands through his mop of hair. “It’s just hard for me to lie to him about this whole thing. I feel like he should know but at the same time, I just can’t get around to telling him and it’s just hard for me, okay? 

May sighed. “I get that Peter, I really do. But it wouldn’t hurt to give him one little call, don’t you think?”

 

 

 

 

 

Peter scarfed his steak down in the canteen. His suite had a sick kitchen and great food ingredients, but Vision was the only person constantly there and Vision’s cooking left much to be desired. Peter would cook something for himself, but in May’s words, his cooking was ‘an abomination’. 

Peter looked around the canteen, feeling a bit self-conscious as he saw a few employees spread out around the area. He felt horribly isolated, as if he were stuck eating alone in the high school cafeteria with no friends. (Peter had invited Vision to eat with him, but Vision had politely declined. Vision stated that while his digestive tract indeed worked, he wasn’t craving dinner)

It was sort of true—Peter didn’t really have anyone his age, or anyone who really connected with him as a young adolescent in the near vicinity.

Of course, he had been treated with the utmost hospitality at the facility. Happy frequently checked in on how Peter was doing, often dropping off books to prepare Peter for junior year and an ACT workbook to boot. Rhodey was always formal and serious about everything, but he treated Peter with respect as if Peter were his equal. Vision was a constant presence in the suite, kindly asking him about his day and bringing snacks to Peter’s room whenever Peter was too worn out to get them himself.

But none of them would tell Peter why Tony was suddenly so stressed and withdrawn. After that impromptu heart-to-heart in the lab, Tony was even harder to see than ever before. He was either always in the meeting room or, according to Pepper, stuck in his lab tinkering with his toys.

Peter picked at the green beans on his dish. He felt out of the loop, kind of lonely and definitely ignored. Of course, Peter had expected that he wouldn’t get too involved in official business once he got to the facility. He was there to train, not to go on a spontaneous mission or hop off a jet into the middle of a warzone to save the world. But just because he was still a kid didn’t mean Peter had to be kept completely in the dark.

“Look, you’ll probably find out through the news outlets in a few weeks or so, Peter. Don’t feel too bad about this, okay? It’s just really sensitive information right now.” Happy had said a bit sympathetically when Peter had asked two days ago. Happy had forced the matter to drop despite Peter’s protests.   

Vision, on the other hand, was much more straight forward. “Tony would rather you not know, Peter. Sometimes, knowing less is better for you.”

It wasn’t like Peter was going to emotionally throw himself into the fray of things if he found out what was going on—all he wanted was a basic outline so that he didn’t feel so clueless. Peter glanced at the employees around the canteen again before returning to chewing at his steak.

He really, really wished that Ned and Harry were here.

 

 

 

 

Peter caught Happy outside of his office, waving at the man brightly. Happy rolled his eyes before giving him an affectionate smile. “Hey, kid. You could’ve just called if you needed something.” 

Peter bounded over towards Happy, pushing his hands together as he twiddled his fingers. “I was actually wondering if I could ask you for a favor.” 

“Is this about Tony, because – “

“No!” Peter cut in. “No, not that. Although I would appreciate it if you would at least give me an inkling – “

“Not happening, kiddo.” Happy shook his head firmly. 

“Right. Well, I expected as much. Anyway, I was wondering if I could bring someone to the facility.”

“Like, your aunt?”

“No. My uh, my best friend. His name is Ned. Ned Lee. He already knows I’m Spiderman and it’s been his dream to see stuff like this in the flesh so I just wanted to show him around the building a bit. Of course, not the private parts of the area, just the waiting room area and more public parts. Like the places that those journalists and newspaper people can go through.” Peter rambled on earnestly, looking up at Happy hopefully.

Happy looked down at him with an uncertain look. “I don’t know, kid. I mean, Tony’s kind of sensitive about privacy and now’s not the best time to have visitors.”

“Oh.” Peter looked down, unable to hide his disappointment. “Well, okay." 

Happy looked at Peter sympathetically, before he grudgingly mumbled. “… Fine. Look, I can talk it out with Tony, okay? But just not in the next few days, okay?” 

“Is there something important happening?” Peter asked, furrowing his brows. Maybe this had to do with Tony’s stressful situation…?

Happy sighed. “We have some important… guests, coming. Now run along—I have to get some stuff to Tony in negative two minutes.”

 

 

 

 

 

“Wait, so I actually have a chance to visit the Avengers headquarters. In the flesh?” Ned asked, eyes wide in barely concealed excitement and wonder as he clapped like a jolly seal. “Peter, you are so awesome.”

Peter gave him a lopsided smile. “What can I say, man? I missed you a lot. Nothing’s final yet though, so don’t keep your hopes up too much, okay?”

Ned batted his eyelashes at Peter exaggeratedly. In his best attempt at a nasally feminine voice, Ned squeaked. “Oh, my one true love, Peter Parker! You fill me with hope and joy!”

“Dude that’s gross, stop.” Peter laughed, swatting his hand in the air at his computer screen. How he wished Ned could be here with him physically, not just through a screen. “Up to anything fun, lately?”

“Well, I created a model jet that flies with fuel made from makeup.” Ned reached for something outside of the screen’s view, bringing a sleek jet-plane into view for Peter to see. “Sick, huh?" 

“Pretty badass.” Peter admitted. “Where’d you get the makeup, though? From your mom?” 

“What? No, of course not!” Ned scoffed. “Look, if I did that my mom would probably be a bit weirded out. I asked MJ for some since she had mascara and liquid eyeliner she was willing to give up.”

“… MJ wears makeup?” Peter asked, raising a brow skeptically.

Ned nodded, raising his brow back at Peter. “Yeah...? She’s been getting into makeup since April, dude. I know you’re deep in Spidey stuff right now, but unobservant can you get?”

Peter leaned back into his pillows, crossing his arms as he tried to recall MJ’s appearance during the second semester of sophomore year. Now that he thought about it, MJ did look a bit different (maybe it was her eyebrows or something). Nothing prominently screamed _I’M WEARING MAKEUP_ at him, but Peter remembered that sometimes she would let her hair down. “Huh. I guess I never noticed. Did it make good fuel, though?”

“Yep. I did a test run with MJ and Harry the other day.” Ned smiled, giving Peter a thumbs-up. “We crashed it into a flock of pigeons our first try and into a few trees at Central Park, but we got the hang of flying the thing. It only needed half a tub of mascara to fly for three hours. Isn’t that crazy?”

Peter’s eyes widened considerably. In the lab, Peter had mostly tinkered with his suit and worked through how the different programs and systems worked with Karen. Other than that, he was working on higher accuracy web-shooters and stronger, stickier web fluid. Peter hadn’t really made anything new, which he used to do all the time back when he was still discovering the extent of his abilities. Ned, on the other hand, was constantly innovating. “That’s really, really cool, Ned. Wish I could have been there to test it with you guys.” 

“MJ was mocking my flight skills half the time, I doubt you wanted to hear her deadpan every two minutes.” Ned joked, before putting his jet-plane away. “She still mocks my love for the Jurassic Park franchise, but she’s doing a Jurassic Park marathon with me tomorrow. That girl just loves contradictions.”

Peter had to fight back a pang of jealousy and longing as he forced a little smile. It was only natural for his friends to hang out with each other over the summer. It wasn’t their fault that they wanted to have fun—it just sucked that Peter couldn’t be there having fun with them. “Wish I could be with you three, man.”

“Oh, Harry’s not joining us.” Ned said. “He said that he and his dad had plans all day tomorrow.”

“Oh.” Peter said. “Well in that case, have fun with Queen Cynicism and velociraptors.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” Ned rolled his eyes in mock disgust. Peter knew that Ned enjoyed MJ’s company. Despite her occasionally weird comments, MJ was a pretty good friend. “Hey, wait a minute.”

“What?”

“What if you left the facility for a day, or two? Like maybe you could take a day off or something to meet us here.” Ned suggested brightly.

Peter felt stupid—how come he hadn’t thought of that? “Yeah. Yeah, that sounds like an awesome idea. I’ll ask Mr. Stark or Happy about it tomorrow. I’ll talk to you later, Ned.”

“Yeah, sure. Also, call Harry once in awhile, dude. He’s been wanting to talk to you for awhile.” Ned added, before leaving the video call.

Peter sighed.

“I know, Ned. I know.” He said quietly, before lulling himself to sleep.

 

 

 

 

 

“You look distracted, soldier. I can tell even if you have a buggy-eyed mask over your face.” Rhodey frowned, walking towards Peter with clunky steps in his War Machine suit. 

“I agree, Peter. Your endorphin levels seem to be quite low. Are you not happy?” Karen asked inside the suit.

“I’m fine.” Peter answered the both of them, stifling a sigh.

Rhodey looked unconvinced. “Uh-huh, right. You can be honest with me you know?”

Peter let out a miserable sigh this time. “I miss my friends a lot. Training here and living here has been amazing and a whole new experience, but at the same time I miss doing the normal stuff with them too.” 

Peter saw the oddly stoic, unmoving expression on Rhodey’s face and felt dejection worming its way into his chest. Rhodey probably thought Peter wasn’t cut out to do this whole superhero thing. He probably thought that Peter’s mentality was weak.

After what felt like centuries, Rhodey finally opened his mouth. “It’s only natural. You’re still a teenager and you’re out here alone, without any close friends or family to support you.”

Rhodey breathed in. “Tony is my best friend. Many times in my job, I’ve had to put the country’s needs before my own, and that includes having to balance my responsibilities and maintaining my relationship with Tony. But without him there through this journey—I doubt I’d be the War Machine I am today. Your friends and your core beliefs will make you a great Spiderman in the future, and there is nothing wrong with craving their company.”

Peter didn’t know what to say.

Karen did, though. “Peter, I believe you’re supposed to thank Colonel Rhodes for his touching anecdote that’s supposed to make you feel better.”

“Alright, soldier. Pick yourself up, now. Show me what your webs can do.”

 

 

 

 

 

Peter yawned, stretching his arms out slowly as his aching muscles screamed in pain. He was still in his suit, making his way past the conference rooms towards the suite. He could just see his bed now; that big, comfortable mattress and those invitingly soft pillows –

“Peter. Peter, there are cars pulling into the roundabout.” Karen’s voice jarred him into full consciousness, and Peter scowled.

“Oh, come on, Karen. It’s just a few cars.” Peter groaned in annoyance, as he turned to look through the large windows at the roundabout. Sure enough, a few sleek black cars had come to a halt in the roundabout area.

Peter was about to turn away and trudge back towards his room, but he froze mid-way. A familiar figure exited the first car. Tall, grim, and dressed in a clean pin-stripe suit was Norman Osborn.

And after him exited another familiar face that Peter had been pondering over the past few days.

Harry Osborn.

“I believe that is your friend, yes? I wonder if he will be involved in the negotiation talks today.” Karen wondered quizzically, her voice soft. 

“Yeah. Yeah, that’s Harry – wait, what negotiation talks?” Peter asked, head spinning in confusion.

Karen sounded nonchalant. “F.R.I.D.A.Y slipped that there would be negotiation talks about an advanced technology today. F.R.I.D.A.Y most likely thought I was one of Tony Stark’s programs when you connected me to the private lab’s computer system to work on the suit. Of course, F.R.I.D.A.Y caught on fairly quickly – “ 

“ _WHAT?_ ” Peter yelled, mouth dropping open as he scampered towards the big window, sticking to it like glue. 

He wasn’t in the direct line-of-vision of Norman and Harry Osborn, but he could still see them clearly from the side. Peter bit his lower lip, hard. Just what did Norman want? Why did he bring Harry, his soon-to-be-sixteen-year-old heir, along with him? Deftly, Peter jumped to the ground before quickly calling to Karen. “Karen, I need X-Ray Vision, right now. Can you lead me to where Harry is going?”

“Sure thing, Peter.” Karen replied, before showing him the facility stripped down to its bare skeleton. 

Peter could clearly make out the figures of the Oscorp entourage making their way through the lobby. Quick as a cat, Peter began running down a corridor leading to the first floor, keeping his eye on Harry’s movements.

They were entering a hallway leading to several conference rooms, now.

Peter watched with baited breath as the Oscorp entourage walked towards the third conference room from the right. Now, how could Peter get near the place without getting caught by an employee or officer…? 

“Karen, how do I get to the conference rooms through the vents?” Peter asked.

“The nearest vent is fourteen steps ahead of you, overhead. However, it is welded shut and will not open with the technology we currently have.” Karen replied.

“But it has enough space for my drone to enter, right?”

“Why yes, Peter.”

 

 

 

 

 

Peter was navigating his drone through the ventilation as he sat in the corridor, frowning in concentration as he followed the X-Ray scans of the building infrastructure. His drone was getting close now—just another right turn, two lefts, and then…

The spider drone crawled out of the vent and onto the ceiling. Peter could see Norman Osborn, Harry, a few old men in suits, Secretary Ross, and Tony sitting at a long table.

“It’s still too dangerous. I respect your intentions, I really do, but Chitauri technology is way too volatile to manufacture into weapons. There’s a reason why it’s alien technology—it doesn’t belong on this planet.” Tony said, the patience in his tone slowly thinning as his eyes glared at the two Osborns with anger.

It was Harry who spoke up. “With Chitauri technology and cores, Oscorp can change the world. We can save the Earth that people are so callously ruining, Mr. Stark. Volatility means danger but also means great reward.”

“Look, kid,” Tony said, balling one hand into a tight fist around his pen. “This isn’t a hedge fund, okay? Volatility in economics? Sure, it means high risk, high reward. Volatility when it comes to dangerous alien technology? It means high risk, certain global conflict.”

“Alien technology ended up here because you Avengers let your conflict blow up into stupidly gargantuan proportion, Stark.” Norman Osborn sneered, looking at Tony with almost snake-like eyes. “Then we see villians like Adrian Toomes mismanaging it. Oscorp would do a splendid job manufacturing it for the right purpose.”

“I think they’re safe where they belong—locked up to never see the light of day again.” Tony’s tone was final. “And what do you mean by ‘the right purpose’? To manufacture them into weapons and create another weapon of mass destruction that would bring about another world war? I say, no thanks.”

Harry slammed his hands down onto the table, abruptly standing up as he looked at Tony accusingly. “Chitauri technology could be used to do good in the world, Mr. Stark. We could change the way energy is used. We could contain that volatility to make this world a better place.”

“Tony. You refused our offer to make Stark Industries to be our government contractor -“ Secretary Ross began, but Tony was having none of it.

“But you accepted my offer to jointly own the Department of Damage Control. As long as I say no, those post-battle salvages will forever be under lock and key, do you understand?” Tony snarled. 

Harry was red in the face, but Norman stopped him before the boy could argue more. Slowly, Norman turned to Tony, eyes cold as he pushed himself up from his seat. “I believe today’s negotiations are done here, Secretary Ross. Perhaps Stark will come to his senses tomorrow.” 

“Oh, don’t bother.” Tony smiled up angelically. “My answer will forever be no.” 

“We’ll see, Stark.” Norman chuckled. “We’ll see.” 

Peter’s head slumped forward as he slowly watched the Oscorp members and Secretary Ross walk out of the conference room, unable to process what had just transpired.

Norman Osborn wanted Chitauri technology and cores—literal bombs and advanced weaponry that had almost razed New York City to the ground had it not been the Avengers swooping in to save the day. Secretary Ross wanted the Department of Damage Control to hand over Chitauri tech to Oscorp.

And Harry… brilliant, bright, compassionate Harry… supported his father’s pursuits. 

“Harry.” Peter croaked quietly. “What the hell is going on with you?”

 

 

 

 

 

Peter's phone in his room lit up. 

 

_1 new message_

 

 _From: Harry_  

_Hey, Peter. I know that we haven't been in contact for awhile, but I really wanna talk. Your aunt told me that your program wasn't too far away, so I was wondering if you'd like to come to Oscorp's annual party. It's invite only and I'll send the invite to you through email. I've got something neat to show you. If your program advisors or whatever tell you that you can't come, then that's cool too_

_P.S. Ned and Princess are coming too btw_


End file.
